Return, Spirit Field, and Vermilion Fruit

[Reward Issued: Heaven-and-Earth Marvel: Spirit Field; Heaven-and-Earth Treasure: Vermilion Fruit] [Current World Proxy Mission Completion Rate: 100%; Bestowed Dao Seed Points: 5] [Time Until Next Descent: 15 Days] ----- Seeing the mission completion rate, Wei Yuefu was finally able to put his mind at ease. The headcount had increased, yet everyone had completed their missions. It seemed the world's selection of candidates was quite dependable after all. At this thought, his gaze first settled upon the rewards. ----- [Spirit Field] [Grade: Micro] [Kunyuan Qi Nourishment: The soil can harbor spiritual essence and cultivate its own fertility.] [Broad Earth Sustains All: Anything planted here shall strike deep roots and grow sturdy sprouts.] ----- [Vermilion Fruit] [Effect 1: Initial-Stage Enhancement to Heaven Grade Aptitude] [Effect 2: Targeted Boost to Growth-Type Dao Seeds] ----- Looking at the two rewards, Wei Yuefu was certain that they were tailor-made; every World Proxy would receive the reward best suited to them. Of course, spirit veins were an exception—that was something everyone likely received. A Spirit Field was exceptionally suited to Wei Yuefu's Yellow Turban Strongmen; after all, they were essentially a squad of farming robots. For now, however, Wei Yuefu had no time to ponder anything else, turning his gaze instead to Pagoda Stance and Bright Hall Force, which his little brother had brought back. Wei Yuefu promptly retrieved them from his skill bar and immediately converted them into two acquired spells. [Pagoda Stance (Minor Mastery; Upgradeable): Nourishes Divine Sense] [Bright Hall Force (Minor Mastery; Upgradeable): Empowers Spells] With Pagoda Stance, the Spirit in Wei Yuefu's Essence, Qi, and Spirit also rose to 8 points. This caused the suffix of his original "Essence, Qi, and Spirit Cap (III)" to become "(IV)", and its effect went from raising the cap of Essence, Qi, and Spirit to 8, to raising it to 9. As for Bright Hall Force, it surprised Wei Yuefu a bit; this could be counted as one of his active spells. Once cast, it could enhance the power and effect of the next spell cast by thirty percent. This skill provided a percentage buff that could also benefit his Yellow Turban Strongmen. Its drawback was that it only applied to active spells—it had no effect on techniques like Layered Tower Art or Pagoda Stance—and the buff was limited strictly to himself while being non-stackable. As for the amount of spiritual energy it consumed, it offered great cost-performance. He had originally thought that if it truly remained physical blood-essence force and combat maneuvers, its utility would be rather limited. After all, with a status like his now, why bother dabbling in melee combat if there was no benefit? At the same time, two new Dao Seeds appeared, corresponding respectively to the tiers of Pagoda Stance and Bright Hall Force. Wei Yuefu ignored them outright. With the Vermilion Fruit in hand, why would he waste Dao Seed points on them? With that thought, he turned his attention to his Dao Seed points. The only ones left that he could activate belonged to the Yellow Turban Strongman series. Without another word, he began allocating points directly. [Yellow Turban Strongman: Quantity (I) / Diligence (I) / Bountiful Harvest (I) / Intelligence (I)] [Spell: Yellow Turban Strongman summoned quantity +1 / Action efficiency +1 / Byproduct spiritual energy produced +1 / Sentience +1] [Prerequisite Dao Seeds: None / None / None / Yellow Turban Strongman: Diligence (I), Bountiful Harvest (I)] [Dao Seed Points: 1 / 1 / 1 / 2] He only activated up to Intelligence; one Dao Seed in the Yellow Turban Strongman series remained unallocated. It was not that he did not want to activate it, but that he had run out of Dao Seed points. The cost of Dao Seed points was far greater than he had imagined. He glanced at the remaining Dao Seeds, deciding not to dwell on what he could not allocate; staring at them would only make his mouth water. At his current pace, barring any accidents, he would be able to max out the Yellow Turban Strongman series after the next Descent Mission. What came next was straightforward: he swallowed the Vermilion Fruit directly and began to cultivate. Compared to the innate spirit root, which had required refining, this Vermilion Fruit was far more convenient. After ingesting it, whichever upgradeable spell he wished to advance, he simply cultivated that one. The only ones he could cultivate right now were his three acquired spells. As an innate spell, Yellow Turban Strongman grew in tandem with his overall strength and through unlocking Dao Seed points. As for the Initial-Stage Enhancement to Heaven Grade Aptitude, that started taking effect right after ingestion, advancing along parallel tracks. It seemed the world still harbored reservations about his innate aptitude. Back then, using the innate spirit root had merely elevated him into the gatekeeper of Heaven Grade aptitude, barely meeting the standard. At this rate, if he obtained two or three more heaven-and-earth treasures, he would likely become just as absurdly gifted as the top two. Yet some gap would probably still remain, since his had been nurtured after the fact. In terms of innate spells and innate divine abilities alone, he likely had far fewer than they did. No matter, though—his transmigrator destiny could make up for the deficit. As the medicinal potency of the Vermilion Fruit permeated his body, Wei Yuefu realized he had still underestimated the weight of the words "heaven-and-earth treasure." Presumably, when he had refined the innate spirit root before, it had not involved active cultivation, which had given him a misleading impression. Only now did he realize that the assistance the Dragon Marrow Blood-Tempering Pill could offer him paled in comparison to the Vermilion Fruit, like a tiny sorcerer before a grand magus. Paired with the spiritual energy within the spirit vein, Wei Yuefu was certain that this time he could definitely advance all three acquired spells to major mastery. This speed was even faster than "Ding Shoucheng" having his little brother running on auto-pilot. This combined refinement and cultivation took even longer; he spent an entire day before completing his practice. "Phew..." Wei Yuefu exhaled a breath of turbid air. Instead of the fatigue that usually followed extended cultivation, he felt thoroughly refreshed and invigorated. After all, he was a Qi Refiner, not a martial artist like "Ding Shoucheng"; the growth path between the two was naturally different. All three acquired spells had received an extra advancement. Wei Yuefu's Essence, Qi, and Spirit had become 8/9. His personal attributes and cap had each increased by 1 point, though it felt... still not like much. In a low-magic, low-martial realm, even when changes occurred, they were subtle. The strongest enhancement belonged to Bright Hall Force: its amplification of spells leaped from thirty percent to sixty percent all at once. From this, Wei Yuefu easily deduced the general pattern. Layered Tower Art and Pagoda Stance added 1 point of attribute and cap per tier; whether they would eventually scale by percentage remained to be seen. Bright Hall Force was far more straightforward: entry level added ten percent, minor mastery added another twenty percent, and major mastery added another thirty percent. Therefore, perfection would likely add another forty percent. In total, that should be a one-hundred-percent effect—doubling the result. As a combat method, Bright Hall Force had undergone a true qualitative leap upon becoming a spell. "A pity the Vermilion Fruit had neither a pit nor any seed-like tissue. Otherwise, after refining the Spirit Field, I could have planted it." The so-called "Vermilion Fruit" was not what Wei Yuefu had envisioned from folklore; it literally just meant... a red fruit. Whether it was even a fruit in the ordinary sense was debatable, and in a dying, low-magic world like the one he inhabited, the genuine Vermilion Fruit of myth appearing was hardly realistic. After loosening up his limbs with a few light stretches, Wei Yuefu stepped outside to show his face and look over the official business that had accumulated throughout the day. Seeing that none of it was important, he decided to refine the Spirit Field first; he had plenty of time to deal with mundane administrative affairs later. If complications arose with this heaven-and-earth marvel because of any delay, his loss would be immense. When it came to priorities, Wei Yuefu was perfectly clear on what took precedence. With treasures like this, he had always believed that what was in one's pocket was truly one's own.